Sunday, October 23, 2011

Le Sigh; They're at it Again!

Last year at this time, we (that bein' the Dear/Damn Husband) and I had a subscription to Dish Network. About three episodes into the third season of Sons of Anarchy, one of my fave Tee Vee shows, the idiots in charge (TIIC) of FX and Dish were in contract negotiations, and Dish threatened to pull FX if they didn't come to an agreement by a certain date.

Yours truly, being the fan that I am, wasn't about to stand for losin' my program, considerin' how much money we were shellin' out to Dish for the service. DH likes Sunny and The League (it's a man thing, I think, about those two shows), so he had a vested interest as well.

So, we played the game, and we called the toll free number that scrolled across SOA and Sunny/League, and were told ABC. Then we called Dish and got told XYZ. Remember the game 'Monkey in the Middle?' It's kinda like keep away. We, the customers, were the monkey in the middle while FX and Dish played keep away with us.

"Fuck this," I said to the DH. We're switchin' from Dish to cable. We would've eventually pulled the plug on the satellite as every time the wind blew, we'd lose the signal. Plus, if there was a storm, and we were monitoring the storm via local weather, we couldn't because the frackin' sattelite would go out!!!!

So, the possibility of losin' FX was the last straw for me. After five years with the satellite, I pulled the plug and made the move. Not a problem since.

Well, now it seems like another service provider, Direct TV, is renewing their contract with FX and other channels, and the whole game is startin' anew.

Already there are toll free numbers and internet/Facebook pages urging the populace to take their side.

That's bullshit.

This year, don't get caught up in the poo sling between the two. The true losers in this match are the bill paying customers and the program providers (IE, the writers, producers, actors, and crew who make the programs possible).

Just go ahead and pull the plug and switch now, so that you don't lose your programs/network. You can sign all the petitions you want, like all the FB pages, make the phone calls, but it won't make a difference.

The only thing these asshats on both sides understand is $$$$. So hit 'em right in the wallet where it hurts. If you can switch, go to a provider that isn't in the middle of negotiations. And when you're considerin' a new provider, ask 'em up front how long before they go through contract negotions with your favorite network. The new provider under consideratin by you just might tell you the truth.

Then again. . . .

Just don't waste your time fightin' for either side. They don't give a rat's behind about you, the payin' customer. They just care about how much money they can remove from the wallet.